Once the park oysters have been sorted, they are stored in manna water, a sort of small basin close to the packaging chain. – E.Provenzano / 20 Minutes
- The oyster sector has almost no outlet to sell its stocks.
- Meanwhile the oysters continue to grow in the Arcachon basin parks.
- There is a risk of thrombosis on the market after the crisis.
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A profession hit hard, and very worried about the future … President of the regional committee of conchylicture Arcachon-Aquitaine, which represents 280 companies (located more than 90% on the
Arcachon basin), Thierry Lafon takes stock for 20 minutes on the situation of the sector, facing the
Covid-19 crisis.
What is the situation of the oyster sector in the face of the coronavirus crisis?
The problem with our business is that production has to continue, because oysters are a three to five year farming cycle with seasonal constraints, as sales plummet. We were coming out of a difficult period, with the norovirus problem at the beginning of the year …
Professionals can no longer sell stocks today?
Many outlets are closed, restaurateurs, tastings, a number of markets, while mass retailing has closed a lot of tide shelves, and those that are open have almost no oyster flow. The impact on the current volume of business is very significant, we have suffered a loss of turnover of around 80% since the start of containment. And we are going to lose the Easter holidays and most certainly the month of May which are periods of high consumption with us.
How do you envisage the continuation, what are the scenarios according to the duration of confinement?
It’s difficult to do foresight. We are very worried about the consequences of this period, because it will have a deleterious effect on stocks, which are changing: what is not currently sold may generate a thrombosis on the market on the recovery. And opposite, you have companies that are going to need cash urgently. This is an event which is likely to destruct the market, with a destabilization of companies. More than short-term harm, it is the consequences in a few months that really worry us.
What is the current state of stocks?
At the moment, we are in the data collection, and I cannot go over figures. But you should know that spring is a favorable period for the growth of the oyster, since there is phytoplankton in abundance and its food bowl becomes important. This is annoying because all the stocks of oysters that have already arrived at market size (# 2 and # 3) will continue to grow and end up in higher categories. These stocks clutter the parks, and it is inconvenient for the resettlement of the youngest who have to harvest the following crops. The problem is that we do not know how long this crisis will last, so we are rather in an intermediate situation at the moment, which does not prejudge what the final situation will be. But from experience, we know very well that when we are going through a period of collapsing prices, the time it goes up is generally very laborious.
Can you keep oysters in parks for a long time?
They can be kept relatively long, the problem is to have the right location on the basin, because the growth is very different in different places. On what are called depots, which are relatively high pens on the basin, you can store the oyster much longer, but this requires having space on the suitable location. Besides, it requires work so it’s a cost. Finally, the oysters will continue to grow, and there will even be mortality phenomena that will occur at some point. So in absolute terms, we can keep oysters for a few months, but it is not a can: even if our animals feed themselves, it is a permanent maintenance.
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